Frank Cottrell-Boyce: A British Childhood
Real homes, real streets, real lives – writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce tells the moving and often deeply damning story of 21st-century childhoods in Britain.
The bestselling children’s author and current Waterstones Children’s Laureate takes us along on the journey of his latest non-fiction work, A British Childhood.
Cottrell-Boyce criss-crossed the country, meeting children and young people from a huge range of backgrounds. Through deeply illuminating stories of real lives in homes, libraries, schools and the streets across the country, he shows our children and ourselves in a glaring new light.
The author tells the story of what it means to be young in today’s Britain – children who grow up in the shadow of Covid and austerity, children for whom the summer holidays mean an absence of care rather than freedom.
Discover this incredibly moving and revealing book, and uncover the country we live in and the steps needed to look after those who shape its future. Cottrell-Boyce appears in conversation with fellow National Year of Reading ambassador Nadia Shireen.
About the author
Cottrell-Boyce is the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024–2026. Managed by BookTrust – the UK’s largest children’s reading charity – and sponsored by Waterstones, the prestigious role is awarded in recognition of exceptional talent, and celebrates creativity and storytelling, and promotes the vital importance of reading and children’s literature.
Need to know
For your visit
This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.